[Ranma][FanFic] A Stained Glass Mind - Parts 3-4

[Anand Rao]

Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi

Tribe of One is owned by TSR

Ranma/Play stared at her reflection in one of the pools of the cursed
springs.

"Hey! I'm kinda cute!" she said, striking a pose.

She then started squeezing her breasts and giggled.

<Guardian> *Play! You stop that right now!*

<Play> *But this is fun! I like this body! Let's jump into another
spring!*

<Bitter> *Don't you DARE! This is bad enough...*

<Guardian> *Please be quiet, I have to try to wake up Ranma.*

After a few moments of the Guardian's gently probing, Ranma woke up and
took control. He blinked a few times and looked around, confused. He
then looked at his body and screamed. He was about to black out again,
when the Guardian stopped him.

<Guardian> *Calm down! Things are not as bad as they seem...*

"NOT THAT BAD???" Ranma screamed aloud, "I'm a guy in a WOMAN's body!"

<Guardian> *And _I_ am a woman who was in a MAN'S body. If I can deal
with it, so can you. Settle down and pay attention to me.*

Ranma slowed his breathing and said, "Sorry...but this scares me."

<Guardian> *I know it does, but like I said, it's not that bad. While
you were out, I probed the Guide's mind. Bitter, ask the Guide for some
hot water. He has some in a thermos he is carrying.*

<Ranma> *Hot water?*

<Guardian> *Trust me.*

*****************************************
* *
* Raoh the Conqueror presents *
* *
* A Story of Ranma 1/2 *
* *
* A Stained Glass Mind part 3 *
* *
*****************************************

Ranma/Bitter asked the guide for some hot water and the Guide, realizing
what his customer wanted to do with it, calmly dumped it over his head.
Ranma took control again as his body became male.

<Ranma> *What happened? How did I change back?*

<Guardian> *This place father has brought us to is a set of _cursed_
springs. Someone, or something died in each one of the springs here.
From now on, if anyone falls into the springs, he will take on the form
of whatever drown there. You knocked father into the Spring of Drown
Panda; he knocked us into Spring of Drown Girl. Apparently, hot water
reverses the curse, but it is not a cure. Cold Water will change us
back into a female.*

Ranma sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands.

"Oh man...So I guess I'd better stay away from cold water then..."

<Guardian> *Ranma, there is one other thing I have to tell you...*

The Guardian sounded troubled and was hesitating a bit, which was not
like her at all, so Ranma was understandably puzzled.

<Ranma> *Yes? What's wrong?*

<Guardian> *There is a Spring of Drown Man here as well. If you jumped
into it, you would be cured.*

<Ranma> *But...*

<Guardian> *I know this is a lot to ask, but this female form is
actually good for some of us. It gives us an outlet that we didn't have
before. Play, Watcher, and I would like to keep the curse. You are not
stuck in it after all, and it will benefit the tribe.*

<Ranma> *Oh man... Do you realize what you are asking me?*

<Guardian> *I understand perfectly what I am asking you, that's why I
told you of the Spring of Drown Man. The decsion is yours Ranma, the
rest of the tribe doesn't really care one way or the other.*

<Ranma> *But it is important to you?*

The Guardian remained silent.

<Ranma> *Sigh... very well, I will... stay like this.*

<Play> *Yeaaaaa!!!!! I can go out, and go shopping, and go on-*

<Ranma> *PLAY! If you do something that I will regret later on, I will
never let you have control again! Even if I have to _kill_ us to stop
you!*

The rest of the tribe stayed silent.

<Guardian> *Thank you Ranma, I know how hard this is for you. I'll
keep Play in line*

Ranma suddenly noticed that the Panda and the Guide were staring at him.
The Panda held up a sign that read, 'Are you OK, son?'

Ranma smiled, "Sure Otosan, I'm fine."

"Well, let's go to the Guide's house then." Genma said as Ranma poured
what was left of the hot water on him.

As soon as they reached the house, the trio ate lunch while Ranma and
Genma discussed their new situation.

"Ranma," Genma began, "This curse of yours could... cause some
problems."

<Bitter> *HA! Remember your promise, Ranma! We should leave right
now!*

"Problems, Otosan?" Ranma said with a smile, "You mean like the promise
you made to Mom?"

Genma paled. "How... did you-"

"Didn't Aunt Ryoko tell you about my tribe?"

Genma began to look uncomfortable. "Well, yes... but we didn't really
discuss it in detail."

<Bitter> *Coward!*

"Well, one of my personalities is a telepath. I know, Otosan. I know
everything."

"You read my MIND?" Genma asked, his anger rising.

"Not me, one of the tribe did."

"This... this is very confusing Ranma." Genma said, his anger deflating.

"I know Otosan. I'm sorry to say that I am going to have to leave you
now."

"WHAT? But- but... I have so much to teach you still, and... and..."

"And you want me marry one of your friend's daughters." Ranma finished.

Genma just nodded weakly.

"I'm sorry Otosan, but the tribe does not trust you. Bringing me here
did not help matters at all. I am going to go see mother, dispite your
promise. You are welcome to join me if you wish, but I WILL see her."

Genma thought for a moment. *Maybe I can still get us out of this.
It's a long way to Japan. The poor boy isn't in control of himself.
That damned tribe is doing this. Maybe I can find a doctor...*

Luckily for Genma, Guardian was not in control at the moment. After a
few moments Genma said, "OK Ranma, We'll do it your way. Let's go visit
your mother."

<Bitter> *This is a mistake Ranma, we shouldn't take him with us. And
why do you want to see mother anway? She's probably as cracked as
father. Do you WANT to kill yourself?*

<Ranma> *No, Bitter, but we have to give Okasan a chance... She
deserves that.*

The next day, Ranma and Genma left the Guide's home a started traveling
towards China's eastern coastline. They traveled alone and did not meet
many people. The first few days passed by uneventfully.

Finally, after one week had passed, they entered a village and Genma was
eager to stop and rest for a while. He was in decent physical shape,
but he could not keep up with the pace that Ranma had kept. Ranma, of
course, had the tribe, and they took turns walking. Even though they
were in the same body, they could still travel farther on foot than
most 'normal' people. Genma had somehow felt the hostility that the
tribe had for him. Everyone once in a while, Ranma would give him a
dark look that spoke volumes. At least, Genma had thought that it was
Ranma. For this reason, and to avoid any _other_ confrontations, Genma
remained in Panda form through out the journey.

The outskirts of the village looked empty but Watcher could sense that
there were a large group of people congregating near by. Ranma
curiously walked over to the crowd. The crowd was watching two women
fight on a large log that was suspended in mid air by some ropes. Ranma
joined the crowd and watched the fight with interest. One of the
combatants, a pretty girl with purple hair, seemed to be gaining the
upper hand.

<Ranma> *Wow. That girl's got some serious power.*

<Play> *What ARE those things she's swinging around? They look kinda
cute.*

<Bitter> *They look utterly rediculous.*

<Ranma> *Those are bonboris. I've seen some of the woman back at the
village use them. Although, they weren't as colorful.*

The fight finished as the purple-haired girl knocked her opponent off
the log and sent her flying away. The girl jumped off the log with a
smile on her face. She then turned towards Ranma and the smile becaome
a glare.

<Ranma> *uh oh. What did we do?*

The girl walked up to Ranma and started yelling at him in Chinese. She
gestured towards Genma, so Ranma turned around. There, Genma-Panda was
sitting contentedly by a table filled with food, or rather, the left
overs of a big meal. Ranma turned back towards the girl and said, "I'm
sorry, but I don't speak Chinese..."

"She wants to know why your Panda is eating her prize." a voice rang out
from the silent crowd.

Ranma turned towards the voice and the crowd parted as a short, old
woman hopped into view using an gnarled wooden staff.

<Ranma> *Guardian...*

Guardian immediately took control and tried to probe the old woman's
mind.

<Guardian> *She blocked my probe!*

<Ranma> *How is THAT possible? No one at our village could do that!*

<Guardian> *I don't know, but I think we're in trouble.*

"Well boy? What are you going to do about this?" the old woman asked.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know that the food was a prize... I'll gladly
pay-"

"How does money restore Honor? Or pay for an insult?" the old woman
demanded.

Ranma just stared at the women wordlessly. Slowly he hung his head with
shame.

"My great-grand-daughter, Shampoo, won our annual tournament today. If
you want to make amends for stealing her rightful award, you must defeat
her in combat. If you win, we will let you go... If you lose, you will
be... punished."

Ranma nodded slowly, a grin starting to form on his face.

<Bitter> *Here we go again...*

Ranma jogged up to the large log and jumped on top of it with one leap.
The old woman, meanwhile, told Shmapoo what Ranma had agreed upon.
Shampoo grinned viscously and she too jumped up onto the log. The
fight, itself, was relatively short. Ranma saw an opening in Shampoo's
defense almost immediately and quickly kicked her off the log.

Ranma made a show of dusting his hands off and jumped down off the log.

<Ranma> *Well that wasn't any fun at all...*

<Guardian> *Stop showing off! We're in enough trouble as it is.*

Shampoo slowly stood up, brushed herself off and walked towards Ranma.

<Guardian> *Be careful.*

Then, she did something totally unexpected; she gave Ranma a big hug and
a long sensuous kiss.

<Guardian> *Stop this!*

<Play> *Hmmmm... this is nice...*

The watcher simply fled.

<Guardian> *Ranma? RANMA!*

Ranma jerked his head back and quickly disengaged himself from Shampoo's
embace. Shampoo just smiled smiled happily at him and said, "Airen..."

The old woman hopped over to the stunned Ranma and said,
"Congratulations Son-in-Law. You have defeated my Great Grand-Daughter.
I'm pleased that such a formidable fighter will be joining our
blood-line."

"Son-in-Law????" Ranma asked.

<Guardian> *I think we'd better leave. Right now.*

The old woman ignored Ranma's shocked look and said, "My name is Khu
Lon. I am the Matriarch of this village, the Amazon Tribe. By our
tribal laws, Shampoo is now your wife."

"What tribal laws?"

"If a female is defeated by an outsider, and the outsider is male, she
will marry him."

"Look, lady, you promised to let me go if I win, and I won..."

"By all means, leave if you wish. But Shampoo will go with you as your
wife. If you reject her, be prepared to face the wrath of 3000 years of
Amazon traditions."

"Sorry Cologne, I can't marry Shampoo. I'm going to Japan. Alone."

Shampoo started to step towards Ranma, but Cologne stopped her with a
harsh command.

"What makes you think we will allow you to leave here without her? I
have been waiting for a strong young man to marry into our family. You
fit the bill nicely. Besides, I would not let a telepath walk away so
easily."

Ranma's face paled in shock.

<Play> *She knows!*

<Guardian> *Maybe... but not everything... I don't _think_ she knows
about the rest of us.*

"That's right boy, I felt your attempt at probing my mind. You are very
strong for one so young."

Ranma calmed himself and said, "I am leaving here; and you can not stop
me. I CAN NOT marry Shampoo. There are many reasons for this, and I
don't plan on getting into them now." Ranma turned towards his father
and said, "Let's go."

As Ranma turned to leave, Cologne hopped in front of him and blocked his
path. The rest of the villagers started backing away. Ranma jumped
back and crouched down into a fighting stance.

"I don't want to hurt you Cologne, but I will not be a prisoner here and
I will not marry your Great grand-daughter. That is final."

"So be it boy, beat me... if you can!"

Cologne hopped off of her staff and swung it around on top of Ranma's
head. Ranma saw stars as the staff smashed onto the top of his head.
As he shook his head, trying to clear it, he was hit again this time on
the back. The blow caused him to loose his balance and he fell forward.

He immediately put his arms in front of him and was able to roll with
the fall and flip forward. He spun around to face Cologne but was met
by her staff smashing into his nose. Ranma's head jerked back, his face
bloodied.

<Bitter> *Might I suggest that you release Shade?*

<Ranma> *No! Shade will kill her!*

<Guardian> *We are outmatched here! Even Shade won't be able to kill
her, but with luck we may survive this.*

The staff hit Ranma in the stomach then on the back of the head as he
doubled over in pain.

<Shade> *RELEASE ME*

Through the pain and dizziness Ranma relaxed and gave up control.
Ranma/Shade stood up and faced Cologne impassively.

"So, have you had enough, boy?" Cologne asked with a smug look on her
face.

Ranma/Shade just glided towards Cologne and started his attack. Cologne
was pushed back onto the defensive, but was able to block or dodge all
of Ranma/Shade's attacks.

"Very good boy... but let me show what REAL speed is!"

Cologne dropped her staff and yelled, "Katchu-tenshin-Amiguriken!" and
proceeded to hit Ranma/Shade at a furious pace.

Ranma/Shade slowly but steadily backed up under the assault. Shade
ignored the pain, and in a very clinical manner, attempted to look for
an opening in Cologne's attack. Suddenly, without warning, Ranma/Shade
reached out a grabbed Cologne's right hand just as it was about to hit
him yet again.

Cologne stared in amazement at the young man whom she had just hit with
over a hundred blows. Her amazememt turned to pain as Ranma/Shade
squeezed her fist in his hand, and kept sqeezing until the bones in her
fingers and wrist started to break.

With a scream of rage and pain, Cologne pulled back her left hand, which
had started to glow. She launched the glowing hand straight at Ranma's
chest and he was hit with a force of pure Ki. Ranma's body flew back
for about sixty feet before he landed on the ground in a heap. For some
reason, the Ki attack hurt Shade in a way that the physical attacks had
not, and his consciousness submerged once again.

Ranma took control as Shade left. His whole body was numb with soreness
and pain. His chest felt like it was on fire and he looked up to see a
livid Cologne stalk towards him.

<Bitter> *I think we're in trouble*

<Guardian> *I can't wake up Shade! Ranma, you're going to have to
handle this.*

<Ranma> *How? What the hell did she hit me with? I haven't mastered
any Ki techniques yet!*

<Master> *Ranma, let go.*

<Ranma> *MASTER????*

<Master> *Let go...*

<Guardian> *Do it Ranma!*

Slowly, Ranma slipped back and allowed Master to take control of his
body for the first time. Ranma/Master stood up and faced Cologne, a
serene and confident look on his face.

"Enough of this boy, I was going to go easy on you. But it looks like
I've misjudged you. You are not worthy of joining my tribe. You will
die." Cologne said.

"Behold, you old wench! A secret technique of the Village of the Mind!
KATAI KAZE!"

A gust of wind picked up in the village and blew towards Cologne. At
first, the wind was a breeze, but it hastily gained strength and started
pushing her back. After a few moments, Cologne could no longer move
forward. She slowly looked up towards Ranma and saw him standing,
straight and tall, about a dozen feet in front of her. Slowly he raised
his right hand and it began to glow. A second later the wind died down
completely and a stream of Ki shot from Ranma/Master's hand and hit
Cologne.

The force of the blast picked her up in the air and threw her a few
hundred feet back, where she crashed into one of the villagers' houses.
Master withdrew himself and Ranma re-emerged; just in time to pass out
from strain and exhuastion. The villagers looked on in various stages
of shock. They could not believe that their Fight Mistress had been
defeated.

Genma took this opportunity to do what he did best; escape. He picked
up the unconscious form of his son, carried him over his broad, furry
back and ran out of the village of the Amazons'; hopefully never to
return.

Shampoo looked in the direction of her fast disappearing husband. She
sighed with bliss and said, "Airen..."

************************
End Part 3.
************************

Next time: Ranma meets his mother.

Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi

Tribe of One is owned by TSR

"Otosan, Do I _have_ to walk around like this?" Ranma-chan asked.

"Trust me on this, Ranma. I understand that you do not know me very
well yet, and... _perhaps_ I have caused you a _couple_ of problems,
but when it comes to something like this; I'm a master. After all, it
is a part of the Saotome Secret Technique!"

"The Saotome Secret Technique? What is that?"

Genma looked at his son, now in his cursed form and thought about how he
would explain this particular 'technique' to him. There was, of course,
a very sophisticated and professional way to explain it. That is, when
it is explained to an outsider; Ranma was his son. Genma sighed and
decided to be blunt.

"The Saotome Secret Technique is simply escaping an unbeatable opponent
so you could fight another day."

"You mean, running away?!" Ranma asked a shocked look on his face.

<Bitter> *HAHAHA... That sounds like pop, alright!*

<Play> *Sounds fine to me... Who wants to fight anyway?*

"Ranma," Genma explained patiently, "There are many things worth living
for, but there are few things worth dying for."

The two continued to walk in silence.

<Guardian> *He DOES have a point though... If any of those Amazons are
chasing us, they would be looking for a young man and his pet panda, not
a father and his daughter...*

<Ranma> *Do you really think that they will be coming after us? I
mean, we'll be coast-side soon, and then off to Japan.*

<Guardian> *I doubt that many of those women would follow us all the
way to Japan, but it never hurts to be careful. Staying as a female for
a few more days won't hurt you.*

Ranma sighed then slowly drifted back and let Lyric take control.

"Yappa pa, Yappa pa..." Lyric began to sing.

*****************************************
* *
* Raoh the Conqueror presents *
* *
* A Story of Ranma 1/2 *
* *
* A Stained Glass Mind part 4 *
* *
*****************************************

"Look Ranma, this is really not a good idea. You don't want to die, do
you?" Genma pleaded.

The pair had finally arrived in Japan without any problems with the
amazons and were now in Nerima, where both Ranma's mother and the
Tendo's lived. Ranma turned back into a male as soon as he got off the
freighter that they had ridden from China.

"You're more scared that Okasan is going to kill YOU." Ranma replied.

"That's not true! Well, yes... I'm scared for myself. But I'm also
scared for you. You may have read my mind, but you don't know your
mother. She will KILL you if she believes that you are not a 'Man among
Men'"

"I want to meet her. I have the RIGHT to meet her. You don't have to
come with me. In fact, I think it would be better if you went to the
Tendo Dojo instead. I can catch up with you later."

"I'm not going to leave you alone, Ranma... Let's go to the Tendo Dojo
together. We can talk about this, come up some sort of a sche-, I mean
plan, and then talk to your mother. A martial artist doesn't just walk
into a situation blindly."

"Ryoko-sensei taught me all about being a martial artist. But I also
developed my mind and my soul. Finding Okasan is not about martial
arts! She's my MOTHER for God's sakes! I want to see her. I want to
see her as much as I wanted to travel with you."

That last statement completely deflated Genma. In the depths of his
mind, even deeper than Guardian had probed, Genma had felt guilty about
abandoning his only son. He knew that Ryoko could help Ranma in a way
that he never could, but it was abandonment all the same. It had amazed
him that in spite his actions, his son still wanted to be with him.

Genma had told Ryoko that he wanted Ranma returned to him. He believed
that he had a right to see his own son. Didn't Nodoka have the same
rights as well? Genma sighed and came to a decision. His son had
trusted him, and now, it was time for Genma to trust his son.

"OK Ranma... Go see your mother. But I expect to see you at the Tendo
Dojo in a few days. You have to meet your new fiance'"

"Otosan I can't get- Oh never mind, we'll talk about it later."

"Good. I'll see you in a few days boy."

Genma lifted his back pack and trotted off down the street somewhere
towards the Tendo Dojo.

<Bitter> *You should have told him why you can't get married. He'll
never let go of this.*

<Guardian> *That's true, but I don't think he could handle the fact
that some of us are female either. Let's talk to mother first, then
decide what to do.*

<Ranma> *Right. Hope this works out. I didn't expect things to get so
complicated.*

<Guardian> *Try not to worry about it too much. Things will work
out... somehow.*

It took Ranma about an hour to find his mother's house. It was a small,
and quaint little home and Ranma got a warm feeling by looking at it.

<Ranma> *I could live here.*

<Guardian> *Careful Ranma, don't be to hasty. We still have some
barriers to cross.*

<Ranma> *I hope she is home.*

<Watcher> *There is someone inside.*

Ranma walked up to the front door and firmly knocked on it. After a few
moments, a woman wearing an elegant kimono opened the door. Ranma held
his breath as he looked at her; she was a beautiful lady. There was
kindness and warmth in her eyes, but pain as well.

"Hello. Is there something I can do for you?" she asked.

Ranma just stared at her.

"Is something wrong?" the woman asked, looking concerned.

<Guardian> *Ranma!*

"I... uh... sorry. I- I am looking for Nodoka Saotome. Does she live
here?"

"Yes, I am Nodoka. How can I help you young man?"

"My name is Ranma."

It was Nodoka's turn to hold her breath. She started at the young man
in front of her. He was handsome; tall and confident. Her husband had
succeeded.

"R-Ranma?" she said in quivering voice.

"Yes, Okasan."

"Okasan..." Nodoka said as she gave Ranma a hug. "You don't know how
I've longed to hear that..."

Ranma returned the hug, tears starting to flow down his eyes. Mother
and son stayed in their embrace for a few moments and then Ranma pulled
back.

"Okasan, there... there is much I need to tell you."

Nodoka smiled. "Please come in, come in. I want to know everything."

Nodoka suddenly realized that someone was missing.

"Where is your father?" she asked.

"That is part of what we need to discuss."

Nodoka led Ranma into the house and they sat down at a table.

"Would you like anything to drink? Some tea... or milk perhaps?" Nodoka
asked.

"No thanks, Okasan. For now, all I want to do is talk with you."

Nodoka beamed a bright smile, and tears began to flow down her face.
She gently caressed Ranma's face and said, "I am so happy to see you,
my son. You are strong, in mind and body. I can sense it. Your father
raised you well."

<Bitter> *That idiot didn't raise us at all!*

"Otosan... Otosan didn't raise me..."

"WHAT?" Nodoka asked, her gaze became questioning.

<Guardian> *Do you want me to probe her? To make sure she can deal
with this?*

<Ranma> *NO! Let me just tell her...*

"Okasan, I was raised in a village in China..."

It took the rest of the afternoon and a lot of the evening before Ranma
finished explaining everything about the Village of the Mind, the Tribe,
meeting Genma, and, of course, the curse.

Through out the whole story, Nodoka was very understanding; in a way
that only a mother could be. She laughed and cried with her son as he
relived some of the more vital moments of his life. Mostly she was just
happy that her son was back home.

Unfortunately, this happiness did not extend to her husband. She was
livid with anger concerning Genma. He had left her behind, so many
years ago, because he did not want his son to be raised by a woman.
Against her better judgement, she let him go knowing that a proper heir
to his clan was more important than anything else in his life. In this
important task, he had failed; recklessly. He had endangered his son's
life and sanity, then GAVE him to some other people, women at that, to
raise. Everytime her anger started to seeth, Ranma tried to comfort
her. He did not feel like loosing his father so soon.

"Okasan, please... don't be to angry with Otosan. I had a good life,
growing up with Ucchan and Ryoko-sensei. I learned a great deal from
them. As for the tribe, well, I don't know any other way to live. So I
don't know what 'normal' is. They have always been with me, guiding and
protecting me."

Nodoka looked at her son and smiled.

"I won't do anything _permanent_ to Genma, but he and I need to talk.
Soon."

"I understand... We can leave for the Tendo Dojo anytime you wish."

"I want to meet the rest of the tribe." Nodoka said suddenly.

"Really?" Ranma said in surprise.

"Yes, after all... ALL of you are my children, right?"

Ranma smiled and then started laughing. It was the first time he had
experienced heart-felt joy since he left the village. After a few
moments, Ranma let go and Guardian came forth. Nodoka stared in
fascination as Ranma's demeanor changed. He still had the same physical
appearance, but his eyes contained more wisdom, and a greater sense of
duty.

"Hello Okasan." Ranma/Guardian said.

"You must be Guardian..." Nodoka stated.

Ranma/Guardian smiled and said, "Yes Okasan. You are very perceptive."

Nodoka took Ranma's hands in her's and said, "I've always wanted a
daughter. And now, I have three. I know you carry a great burden. You
are the mother that Ranma and the tribe needs. Thank you for taking
care of my son. I want you to know, that if YOU ever need guidence, or
just need to talk, I'll be here for you. Always."

Ranma/Guardian started crying. "Thank you Okasan... I think, I am going
to need you in the days to come."

Nodoka gathered up Ranma/Guardian in a hug and said, "Can I meet my
other daughters?"

Ranma/Guardian leaned back and said, "Watcher never comes out. But you
can meet Play. I should warn you, she can be a bit... whimsical."

Nodoka smiled knowingly. "Many girls are at that age."

And so it went, into the night, Nodoka met several of the personalites
that resided in Ranma's body. There were a few exceptions, of course.
She did not meet Shade, nor did she want to for that matter. Nodoka was
not a threat to the tribe, so it was impossible to even call Shade.
Nodoka did not have any cats, so meeting Neko was out of the question as
well. These things, Nodoka was able to understand, but Master confused
her.

"Why can't you call him?" she asked Ranma.

"Well, he never responds to any of us. He's just there. I can feel
him, but..."

"And he only took control that one time? When you fought that dreadful
old woman?"

Nodoka supressed the rage she felt as she mentioned Cologne. She did
not find Ranma's experiences in the Amazon village amusing at all.

"Yes... and I didn't even call him that time. He just came. The
strange thing was that he was able to perform a Ki attack that I had
been studying. The Karai Kaze... I've been trying to get that
technique right for a long time, but I was never able to do it."

"Well, perhaps Master is like Guardian... She is telepathic, but you
are not. Maybe you CAN'T do Ki attacks, because the part of you that
has that ability resides in Master."

Ranma looked at his mother, obviously impressed.

"You've taken this whole thing really well. You have some insights
about my situation that I never even realized." Ranma said.

"Ranma, you're my child. I have only known for a few short hours, but I
have ALWAYS loved you. And I always will. That's what being a parent
is all about."

"It doesn't bother you, that I'm like this?"

"It will take a little getting used to... but if the only option is
having you out of my life forever, I think I can manage." Nodoka replied
with a smile.

"I think," Ranma said with a yawn, "that we should probably head towards
the Tendo Dojo soon..."

"Maybe my son, but not tonight. Its getting late, and you need your
sleep. I'll show you to your bed."

Nodoka stood up away from the table and Ranma followed suit.

"Okasan..."

"Yes, Ranma?"

"You are not going to make me marry one of the Tendo girls, are you?"

"Family honor demands a union between the Saotome and Tendo clans..."

"But-"

"Let me finish Ranma," Nodoka said, "Like I said, honor demands a
wedding, but in this case, we are probably going to have make some kind
of consessions..."

"Consessions? What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am not going to force you into a wedding, and either will
Genma if I have anything to say about the matter. However, we are going
to have to explain things to the Tendo's."

<Bitter> *Does she REALLY think its a good idea to tell the whole world
about us?*

<Guardian> *I agree that divulging too much information might be
premature, but if it stops a wedding...*

<Play> *A wedding might be fun! We can dance, and dress up, and eat
lots of good-*

<Guardian> *Play, not now.*

"Uh, Okasan... Can we possible NOT tell the Tendo's everything... I
mean not until we really get to know them?"

Nodoka gave Ranma a side-long glance as she opened the door to his room.

"We can keep the tribe a secret as long as you want, but you have to
tell them about the Jusenkyou curse."

With a relieved look on his face, Ranma said, "Thanks Okasan, and good
night."

Nodoka smiled and gently kissed Ranma on the cheek.

"Good night my son... and good night to ALL my children."

***************************************
END PART 4
***************************************

Now, did Nodoka take this too easily? I don't think so... Parents
suprise you sometimes, I know mine have. They get all bent out of shape
over the little things, but can be totally understanding when it comes
to something that you expect them to explode at.

until next time,

Namaste.

-anand